Clothing Early Métis had a social ranking system based on
traditions and occupational status. For example, buffalo hunters were
highly regarded. Clothing especially marked the variable social class of
Métis. Some Métis wore fashionable European clothing, and others dressed
as Natives, but there emerged a third group who combined European and
Native dress to create a distinctive Métis style. The flamboyant and
colourful Métis style of clothing was notable in how it could be
individualized to reflect the personality and status of the wearer.
Early Métis clothing was frequently made from hide (usually
elk or deer) and was decorated with paint or quills. Very quickly,
though, the Métis adapted these items to incorporate trade cloth,
beads and silk thread brought by the Europeans. Using these more
workable media, designs became even more elaborate, and any
innovative or popular decorative motifs were shared by other women
in the community as they discussed their work during their
"gossiping parties." Never afraid to experiment, women used a range
of design elements and colours: sleeves were brightly adorned with
red-and-white candy strips, coats were painted with yellow, blue,
red, black and pink in multicoloured patterning. Their designs also
had a distinctive fluidity, and few elements stand alone without
some line or connection to another part of the pattern. Their
vibrant attitude towards life is reflected in the design elements
and patterning and the Earl of Southesk remarked upon "the gay
fashion of Métis clothing found in Saskatchewan, "where taste seems
freer to indulge its fancies than in graver regions of Fort Garry."
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Men's Clothing and Footwear
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